Florida to New Bruswick Canada using backroads

[Roger Troy]

First, love the site and forums! I am planning a trip from Cocoa Beach Fl to Oromocto, NB, Canada this summer. Have the vehicle I need. Plan to avoid expressways and big cities and have all the time I need. I would like suggestions on places to see, eat, stay (not camping) and things to do. I plan to hug the East coast as much as possible, using US 17 & US 1 etc.
Have read a lot, but first hand suggestions are usually better. Thanks in advance.
Roger

[Roger Troy]

First, love the site and forums! I am planning a trip from Cocoa Beach Fl to Oromocto, NB, Canada this summer. Have the vehicle I need. Plan to avoid expressways and big cities and have all the time I need. I would like suggestions on places to see, eat, stay (not camping) and things to do. I plan to hug the East coast as much as possible, using US 17 & US 1 etc.
Have read a lot, but first hand suggestions are usually better. Thanks in advance.
Roger

[Mark Sedenquist]

Thanks! I am continually astounded with the quality of responses of some of our fellow road trippers.

Oromocto is a new one for us. Do you have family there... Or?

Some many things to see enroute, so taking a random shot with a dart -- Deer Isle in Maine is one of our favorite places to hang out and soak up the atmosphere. Some of our picks: http://www.roadtripamerica.com/journals/Number20.htm

It may be too late for the potato field bloom near Presque Isle, but everyone should see this one time in their life.

If a wood-fired sauna sounds like the perfect antidote for sore driving muscles -- be sure to stop at the Durham Leisure Center.

[Roger Troy]

Hi Mark, thanks for the info. It will be added to the list
of "to do's". I am doing this because I do have family
there, my daughter and her family to be exact, and I never
been to the Northeast, except NYC and Jersey. It is near
Fredrecton. Her husband is stationed there for 2 years, he
is US Army. I am really looking forward the trip, plan on
taking 10-14 days to get there and stay for 2 weeks.

[Mark Sedenquist]

The Mt. Washington Auto Road near Gresham,NH -- We haven't done it, but we know plenty who have. A decent site at http://www.mountwashington.com/autoroad/

The Fraconia Notch is a pretty scenic drive.

For a slightly radical detour -- the Atomic Wings in Sharon, PA at Quaker Lube are a must-eat.

Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg if only because it is there: http://www.roadtripamerica.com/signs/chargogg.htm

The two highways I would include would be US-129 also known as "The Dragon" which features 318 turns in 12 miles along one stretch between Topoco, N.C. and Maryville, TN. The second one would have to be Kancamagus Highway (US-112) through NH's white mountains.

[Hoppercats21]

Jekyll Island, GA, is beautiful and interesting; ditto for St. Simons Island. Savannah should be a day of its own. Beaufort, SC, is slow and somewhat interesting.

In SC, Charleston is very charming and interesting, particularly the downtown area.
Around the Grand Strand (Myrtle Beach and the adjacent beaches 30 miles south and 30 miles north of MB) traffic in the summer is usually very heavy, even on US 17 and the interstate-quality bypasses. Be forewarned. Windy Hill Beach is often 1/4 of a mile wide at low tide.

There are many slow and easy beach towns from the SC border to Wilmington. The most interesting (non-beach) town is Southport, with many restaurants serving fish and shrimp right off the boats.

The Wilmington, NC, downtown is small but interesting. If you have time and the inclination, the Outer Banks of NC are well-worth the effort. Make ferry reservations ahead. Some of the adjacent mainland towns are interesting (i.e., New Bern, Washington, Manteo, Currituck).

Many of the prettier spots in NC and SC are away from the east coast. But if you willing to consider the west side of NC, be sure to take some time on the Blue Ridge Parkway. You won't make any time (there are lots of curves and overlooks; the highest speed limit is 45 MPH; many locations have 35 MPH limits). Also, on the west side of NC and SC are many beautiful state parks in NC (i.e., Table Rock, Jocassee, Oconee, Grandfather Mtn, Chimney Rock, Stone Mtn, Mt. Mitchell, etc.). And Asheville is definitely worth a stop.

The Shenandoah Valley in VA is beautiful, and it gets you away from the traffic around DC. Highway 11 parallels I-81, for most of the way. I-81 is filled with truck traffic, and a headache, in my experiences. US 29 is another alternate route (in VA, only) that bypasses some of the I-81 and I-95 traffic, but gets you to northern VA (before you would want to get off of US 29). Of course, you could choose to go east of DC along the coast, by taking the bridge and tunnel from Norfolk to the Delmarva peninsula.

[Midwest Michael]

Hoppercats,

Thanks for the useful information, however, the original trip took place 13 years ago! This is a thread from 2003.